Fritch, Texas was the scene of a wildfire that devastated the small town on May 11, 2014. Prairie fires are not uncommon in the Texas landscape, but they have become more of a threat in recent years secondary to growing populations, the ways in which land is now used, and an ongoing drought in the state. In the nine-year span between 1995 and 2014, more than 157,000 wildfires were reported in Texas with almost 80 percent raging within two miles of residential communities (Warren). The population of Fritch was just over 2000 people. Unlike other small Texas towns that are primarily agriculturally based, the majority of residents traveled to Amarillo or Borger for employment. There is no recorded history of previous serious fires in the Fritch area.
The consequences of the fire were devastating to the community. The main structures were mobile homes and ultimately 225 residences and 143 outbuildings were destroyed (McBride). Based on the loss of 231 properties, monetary value is placed at $2.44 million with an additional $1 million in vehicular damage. However, as a result of quick response teams from Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, approximately 241 residences and 133 outbuildings were protected. According to Fritch Police Chief Monty Leggett, no injuries or deaths were reported as a result of the fire (NBC News). Subsequently, about half of the citizens returned to rebuild and tourism around Lake Meredith is resuming. An Amarillo building safety inspector had employees working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to remove solid waste in compliance with state regulations (Ricci and Welch). However, over a year passed before the 75 tons of debris were removed from the Fritch Recycle Center at a cost of over $350,000 (Powell).
Details regarding the performance and actions of the response teams and supporting organizations is well reported. When the weather service and the Texas Forestry Service determined there was a high alert for the spread of the wildfire based on wind conditions and atmospheric pressure, firefighters were given warning about 30 minutes (Cortez,b). Generally when there are wind shifts, the fire is directed toward areas that have already burned. In the case of the Fritch wildfire, the flames were pushed into the southern and northern portions of the town and when the wind shifted, embers and burning debris were carried into the middle of the housing edition. The response teams did not have enough personnel at that time to effectively address the spread although every firefighter in Hutchinson County came to the scene and the Texas Forestry Service dropped water from two aircraft (NBC News).
Area residents received reverse 911 calls regarding the fire, but the Emergency Operations Center then became inundated with telephone calls (Cortez,b). The overflow of incoming calls created a problem with coordinating requests for resources and there was insufficient staff to support the emergency. A photo was placed on the city’s Facebook page, which assisted in reducing the call volume. Outside response teams had difficulty communicating with local ones due to the hampered call center and lack of information regarding proper radio frequencies. Many times, handheld radios and mobile radios also did not adequately function. The incident command post put into place from an adjoining country was also out of contact for 45 minutes during a crucial time period. Response teams on the ground also could not speak with aircraft deployed for surveillance in order to evaluate the situation. Fritch Volunteer Fire Chief Ronnie Morrison stated that communications functioned well for the local response team and that their operations could not have gone better.
Officials considered evacuating the entire population of Fritch, but determined by late that day the precaution was not necessary (NBC News). However, between 300 and 400 residents in the area around the town were forced to leave their houses and seek temporary shelter. The Red Cross provided two Red Cross shelters in addition to 21,526 food kits, contacts for 170 emotional support personnel, 354 health care checks, and 105 kits for personal hygiene (Cortez, a). The Red Cross staffed 139 people, mainly volunteers, and 3569 materials for relief efforts such as rakes and hand protection. In the days following the fire, donations for Fritch Fire Relief to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army totaled more than $176,000 and the Hutchinson County United Way Fritch Fire Relief Fund contributed $50,000 from the organization and another $660,000 in donations.
Teams from Amarillo came to place signs on buildings considered too dangerous to be entered as residents attempted to retrieve household items, medications, and pets (Ricci and Welch). Crews from Xcel Energy quickly restored power to approximately 47 customers, although more than 400 homes remained without service. About 100 Xcel employees from Eastern New Mexico and the Panhandle of Texas started the process of erecting 118 poles and power lines to restore service for an additional 136 customers. It was essential to determine where downed power lines were located to ensure the safety of the populace and teams working on recovery, but having electricity in buildings considered to be safe enabled residents to have lights, refrigeration for food, and power for cooking.
A draft of a Fritch Area Defense Plan had been drafted for response teams prior to the fire and officials in the area had already encouraged home owners to remove flammable brush from around buildings. A meeting held months before the wildfire concerning emergency management was attended by only five people and only seven people attended a meeting two months after the fire. Despite the lack of cooperation by the town’s residents, the emergency preparedness plan worked well and evaluations of the event allowed for modifications for improvement, including changing the method of communications for distributing resources and managing rescue and recovery teams.
The Fritch Fire was not a disaster or catastrophe because no lives were lost. The scale of damage was not on the same level as Hurricane Katrina or even the Bastrop County Complex Fire in Texas that destroyed 1645 homes and burned 34,068 acres of land (Maron). Regardless of the scope of the damage and the lack of casualties, the residents of Fritch, Texas were significantly impacted by the fire. Some families lost everything they owned, many were required to seek shelter with friends and relatives for months, home were lost forever, and businesses destroyed. Some of the people of Fritch returned to reconstruct their town and Fritch is rising from the ashes of its destruction. The local and regional response teams and support from surrounding areas are a testament to the importance of adequate emergency preparedness planning and practice. Whether a community is located on the coast in the path of hurricanes, in the Midwest under threat of tornadoes, in the northern areas where blizzards loom in the winter, or the arid South ever alert for wildfires, the ability of trained and equipped response teams are crucial in the event of an emergency.
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Works Cited
Cortez (a), J.C. "Home > News > Local News Syndicate Content Comment Red Cross: Fritch
Fire Recovery to Top $340K". Amarillo Globe News 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Cortez (b), J.C. "Report: Interagency Issues Hinder Double Diamond Fire Response". Amarillo
Globe News 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Maron, Dina Fine. "Fighters from 43 States Battle Far-Flung Texas Wildfires". Nytimes.com.
N.p., 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
McBride, Jim. "Recovery Continues A Year After Texas Panhandle Wildfire". Claims Journal
(2015): n. pag. Web.
NBC News. "More Than 100 Homes Destroyed By Wildfire Near Fritch, Texas". NBC News.
N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Powell, Drew. "Residents Soon To Be One Step Closer To Recovery 1 Year After Fritch Fire".
KVII/ABC News. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Ricci, Jay and Kevin Welch. "Fire Marshals Investigate Shed As Starting Point Of Double
Diamond Fire". Amarillo Globe News 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Warren, David. "Texas Wildfires Fueled By Drought, Growing Population, Sprawling Suburbs,
Land Use". The Dallas Morning News 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
